Catfished
by Yudoku Kabe-no-Hana
Summary: Gaara finds his first love on the internet and after two long years Hinata finally agrees to meet with him. This is their story.


**Catfished.**

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**Summary: Gaara finds his first love on the internet and after two long years Hinata finally agrees to meet with him. This is their story.**

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An agitated sigh left the lips of a painted face and the worried look of an elder sister caused it.

"Tem, you really need to calm down. It's not as bad as you're making it." Kankuro sighed as he lifted his feet onto the heavy oak desk before him.

Temari stood a few feet away, watching a small red dot disappear into the throng of people through the office window. She wrung her hands nervously and frowned at her younger brother.

"Kankuro, how are you not concerned? Haven't you seen how some of these online dating horror stories?!"

Part of her knew she was being ridiculous but for the first time in history her baby brother had shown interest is another human being and if somehow this turned out to be a hoax then the poor boy would be crushed, resulting in regression of all the progress he'd made in the recent years.

Kankuro made a flippant hand gesture and turned to look out the same window that held her attention. "

Nahhh, Gaara's a smart kid. He is fully aware that if he finds out this chick's a dude, or has 7 fingers and toes or is missing half her teeth then he fully walked into it. I know you're worried about him but we've got more important things to cover right now, okay?"

Her heart did a leap- what if she is a man!? Some strong man that could overpower him and kidnap him. Gaara had grown into a well-established man but he was still shorter than most his age due to the fact that he'd been born prematurely. Or worse- what if it was some older woman who liked to pick up and kidnap young boys for her sick sexual pleasure!

"Temari." Kankuro called, placing a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. "I can feel the crazy ideas radiating off your body. Quit it, seriously. I know you wanna protect him but you're not his mother, you're his sister. Your role is supportive, not worrisome."

Temari frowned. She knew that and hated to be reminded of it, after all Gaara was her baby brother, He was the youngest and most fragile of the sand siblings He'd taken it so hard when their parents died. His already reclusive nature worsened as Temari and Kankuro were forced to take control of the family company.

"Beeesiddess, Gaara said he'd be back tonight, so it's not like he's leaving the country or anything to go see this girl… er, person."

Kankuro's lax attitude was always something that irked Temari but in most cases he was right and she simply worried too much. Rather than being scared for Gaara's safety she should be confident in his ability to take care of himself, he really wasn't a child anymore. Legally he was an adult and in reality she could do nothing to stop him.

With a quick turn of mindset she decided to focus her energies on being happy at the possibility that perhaps there was someone on this planet that could help her baby brother. Kami knows that she and Kankuro weren't doing the best job of it, so she sighed her concerns away and redirected her thoughts to the pile of proposals sitting on her desk waiting for her final say…. On second thought, worrying over Gaara seemed a more enjoyable task.

XxxxxX

Gaara's pale eyes scanned the airport, his passport and boarding pass in hand, and made his way to terminal C where his plane was to take off in half an hour. If Temari hadn't decided to wait till the last minute to give him the third degree then he wouldn't be cutting it so close. And if he didn't move faster then he would miss his flight to Konoha.

So what? He lied to his siblings, it wouldn't be the first time… or the last.

It wasn't like oceans separated the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire but it was still classified as leaving the country. But if Temari knew, she'd have a meltdown and he did not have time for that right now.

He passed through the people lined up for boarding, receiving dirty glares as he made his way to the front and flashed his first class pass and stepped onto the ramp leading to the plane. Flying was far from his favorite thing to do but it was required.

She had finally agreed to meet with him this evening for dinner. He probably wouldn't be back home until tomorrow morning even though he'd told his sister he would be back that night.

Gaara settled into his spacious seat with his only carry-on bag and sighed. On the inside his nerves were frayed but everyone around him saw only his dark rimmed eyes and unruly auburn hair leaving him to be the image of calm and cool, perhaps even mysterious and sexy.

After long negotiations she finally agreed to meet with him and the mere thought made his tiny heart do flips in his chest.

The Hyuga girl had made great changes in him in the two years they had known of each other's existence, despite the fact that they had never met… in person. He'd only seen one picture of her and spoke to her…. Once on the phone which was quickly interrupted by her father, to which he was silently grateful as words were never his strong suit and things had been getting really awkward, really fast.

Hinata Hyuga, from the small amount he was able to gather about her physical appearance, was a short, pale female. The picture had received was taken in the heart of Summer, she was at the beach with the sun shining brightly behind her, making her pale complexion glow in the light.

One hand covered the horridly oversized sun hat on her head, trying to hold it down against the breeze threatening to whip it away. Her lips were turned up into a full on smile that touched her eyes that squinted against the beaming sunlight. The image was close up and framed her neatly shaped face, rounded cheeks with long strands of dark hair whipping in the wind. From their one word phone conversation he'd heard the softest, sweetest sound that still reverberated through his mind.

Hinata Hyuga was all in all perfect, if that were indeed the true Hinata. Gaara wasn't a complete fool, he knew somewhere deep in his heart that it was entirely possible that all he knew of her was a lie but the fool part of him desperately wished it wasn't true.

The pair had met in a chatroom roughly two years ago, to be honest he didn't really know why he participated in chatrooms. He never really spoke to anyone and most of the time the groups spoke of nothing other than pop culture blather and he quickly deduced that they were all idiots. Except one username that appeared in a private window one evening and seemingly never closed after that.

Hinabuns27 had captured his attention immediately, her proper grammar and lack of interest in anything of modern culture was a breath of fresh air. At first they made small talk, they both attended ridiculous private schools and were heirs to some outlandish fortune that they didn't even remotely care for. As time went on they both began to divulge information of their personal life; lost parents, difficult familial relationships and dreams for the future, although neither of them had a clue of what they wanted.

After the passing of his parents he'd closed himself off and try as Temari might nothing she could say had made him feel better. He wasn't going to deny, at first he simply wanted to act like a brat but over time, over the long nights spent ruminating in his own mind, it became true and the dejected feelings that he projected onto his sister and brother came true. Somehow Hinata had managed to coax that out of him without him even realizing, at some point she managed to know him better than he knew himself.

Gaara had concluded long ago that all the people in Suna sucked. It was odd to think that at some point individuals were confined to be acquainted with the people in their immediate area when all around the planet there were people who didn't suck. With the advent of the internet the world had opened up and through the grace of God he'd weeded through the perverts, old women and obscene images of genitals to find a pearl, a shining beacon of light within his life… who could very well turn out to be an old pervert or woman with 7 fingers and toes.

He exhaled deeply as Kankuro's words seeped into his mind, for a moment he opened his eyes and couldn't help but wonder when the plane had taken off. The flight attendants were making rounds and taking orders as the plane had reached its safe altitude of 37,000 feet in the sky… or something ridiculous of the sort. It was better if he didn't think about that right now…

Kankuro had a point, it was true but what he'd failed to mention to the cat eared, face painted creeper was that even if she had 7 fingers and toes he'd love her all the same.

XxxxxX

Gaara stared down at the letters scrawled on his hotel napkin and verified the match on the building before him. It was a small diner, just as she'd said. The sun had begun making its way below the horizon so the dinner rush had already subsided. He stepped inside to the hostess podium where a blonde girl with striking blue eyes stood with a beaming smile.

"Good evening! Welcome to K-Café! Just one for tonight?" she inquired as she dug around for a menu.

A sudden flush spread across Gaara's usual calm demeanor, he tugged at the long sleeve of his shirt and scanned the small area.

"Ahem, actually, I'm supposed to be meeting someone… she's uh, short… and pale and she's got long dark hair?" he said, attempting to not sound like the loser he felt like.

The blonde female put a finger to her lips as she thought, Gaara couldn't help but mentally warn her not to hurt herself.

"Oh! Well, I think a girl like that came in not too long ago. I seated her over there-"

She pointed to the far right end of the café where a scowling man with white eyes sat beside a girl who smiled sweetly, most likely having dealt with his sour attitude many times before.

"She isn't sitting there now but maybe they know where she went." The girl continued.

Gaara nodded his thanks and began his way to the table, the pair seated taking no notice of him until he felt something bounce off his left arm, something soft and small. He didn't make a move until he heard the high pitched squeal of a female and is reflexes kicked in, _finally, _and his hands grasped the shoulders of the tiny form that had stumbled into him.

His anxiousness had created a delay in the usual snarky comment he would make to those who bumped into him of their own clumsiness. But when the small girl looked up at him, the words died on his lips and the anxiousness that was simmering inside his stomach finally boiled over.

Fearful, pearlescent eyes stared up at him behind thick dark lashes, a rounded face framed by dark hair that once in the right light you could immediately identify as a midnight blue. His hands held tightly to her shoulders, concerned that If let go then one of them was sure to fall.

"G-gaara…" Her plump lips parted in a sigh of his name and the same sweet voice that he'd only heard once before rang deep inside of him.

His body relaxed and for the first time his lips turned into a smile, nervousness slipping and giving way to a delirium of happiness.

"Hinata."

She was real. She was beautiful and her voice was as soft and gentle as he remembered. His hands slid down her arms to grasp and examine her hands…. She even had 10 fingers!

His eyes trailed back to her face and she was blushing now, her eyes darted around the room, concerned of the scene they had created but Gaara paid no mind.

"G-gaara… w-we sh-hould sit d-down…" she whispered, her voice trembling.

Her pearly skin glowed with embarrassment, her small nose and cheeks held a shade of bright red that reached all the way to her petite ears. She seemed so small in front of him, her hand were so dainty and even though she stood with her back straight she was almost a head shorter than him. She seemed so real and lifelike, even the faint voice he barely registered begging him to sit down seemed real. Yet Kankuro's words still cast doubt.

Hinata could only stare hopefully at the catatonic man before her and ignore the seething glare of her cousin seated in the corner, the gazes of strangers had died away as his strange behavior was no longer of interest The pale eyed gaze of Gaara had made her question whether agreeing to meet him was such a good idea. Of course Neji would step in if needed and she half expected him to when Gaara placed his palm on her cheek and leaned in closer.

Then he kissed her.

A meeting of the lips by two seemingly strangers but in reality it was a connection being completed, a love coming full circle. A love that had started from an incredible distance and withstood the most difficult test of time only to have the final missing link connected into place in the middle of this small diner.

_Hinata Hyuga is real._

His mind confirmed one final time as their lips tentatively touched, at first before giving way to an awkward but long awaited first kiss. As the most sensitive part of the human body, due to its many receptors and close proximity to the brain, the first touch of their lips ignited a frenzy of heated sensations leading directly to their central nervous system creating a vacuum that sucked away their breath and sanity.

The Hyuga swayed on her feet as the light show in her mind faded away and her lungs screamed for air, her eyelids heavily lifted to reveal her glassy white eyes staring up at him before he pulled her close, squeezing her for dear life. It's possible that it wasn't until that exact moment that he'd realized how important it was that he found her to be real.

Perhaps Temari was right to worry about him.

Hinata sighed into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, a small smile had planted itself on her face.

"G-gaara…. Can w-we go s-sit now?"

And he nodded before leaving them into some miscellaneously empty booth, his final thought before his attention resumed focusing on the two pools of reflective moonlight across from him;

_How the hell am I going to explain to Temari that I'm not coming home…_

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**Author's Note: This is just a little one-shot I wrote a long time ago. My writing style has changed since I wrote it but I still welcome feed back of all kinds. Thanks for reading!**


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